8Bitdo Wireless USB Adapter Review

Ever want to use your Dualshock Controllers on your laptop? How about your Wii remote on your Raspberry Pi for old school gaming with all your emulators? Did you want to buy a Pro Controller for your Switch but realized that Nintendo is charging way too much, especially when you already bought a pro controller for your now unused Wii U? Good News! 8Bitdo has graciously gifted us with an adapter for all the controller swapping you can handle.

The 8Bitdo USB Wireless Adapter is a small USB stick designed to simply plug into a USB port and sync via Bluetooth to any 8Bitdo Controller, PS4, PS3, Wii Remote, Wii U Pro Controller, Switch Joycon or now with the latest update Xbox One S Controller! To update simply plug into a PC or Mac and go to 8Bitdo’s website and look for the software update. I also advise downloading the manual from the site as some controllers are not as cut and dry to pair. The guide comes in handy for button combinations you’ll need to hit for some of the controllers. For instance, I was unaware holding down Share and the Playstation button on the Dualshock 4 was pairing mode. I’m fairly techy and didn’t know this so I imagine Mr. and Mrs. Everyman would be confused as well.

Outside of that it works quite well. I was able to test with a DuelShock 4 and 3, a Wii U pro controller and a Wii remote on my Switch and laptop. I tried my Xbox One controllers however I have the older non Bluetooth versions so they will not work, something to keep in mind. They all felt very responsive without any lag whatsoever once they were paired. Plug the stick into Switch, PC, Mac, Raspberry Pi or an Android based computer or gaming system (Nivedia Shield, Gamestick stuff like that) and press the button on the unit to sync. Then proceed to use the sync method of whichever controller you intend on pairing and voila! I did have a few issues where my other consoles would turn on and I would have to turn them off and try again however once it was connected it was perfect. My personal favorite has been my Wii U pro controller as I felt it as a well designed controller that never got much use. As a heads up if you use it on the Switch you’ll need to go into the Switch menu and go to change grip order to pair as you would any other controller. I was not able to get the controllers to turn the system on from sleep but this isn’t a deal breaker to me.

With all that said, I really think 8Bitdo did a great job with this adapter. It’s fairly straightforward to use and they provide instructions and software on their website if you need it. The design is perfect as it gives you a retro feel, they made it look like a bunch of bricks from Super Mario! On top of all of this they went in with only a $20 price point. Sweet!